Paul and Janet

Today we took a drive up to the Daintree rainforest and Cape Tribulation. This is as far north in Queensland as you can drive without an off road vehicle. The road looked like it was hacked straight out of the jungle. When we rolled down the car windows it was a symphony of noises.....screeching bugs, loud birds and all manner of creepy crawlies, I'm sure. We stopped at a bat rescue center. They had a young bat who had been brought in by someone who witnessed it's mother being devoured by a python. Hats off to whomever will run over to rescue a young bat when a python is laying nearby.....we were able to handle and touch the young bat. Their faces are actually quite cute...big brown eyes, furry muzzle and kitten-like ears....you just need to ... read more

Today we took a snorkel cruise out to the Great Barrier Reef. It was a wild, long ride out...people were barfing into bags all around us so we scuttled up to the deck and enjoyed the sea breeze. We went to the outer reef. We must have been with a real 'non-swimming' crowd as Paul and I were the only two who didn't need flotation devices or to be towed by the snorkel guides. They had asked us our swimming level prior to jumping in....after seeing everyone else we wanted to go back and upgrade our questionnaire to 'Michael Phelps' level. We decided to go wild and took a helicopter ride over the reef. You take a small boat to a small pontoon and get on the helicopter for a 20 min ride. The colors were ... read more

Yesterday we spent our last day in the Blue Mountains. We acted like tourists and went to Scenic World where we took all of the trams and cable cars over the valley. The tram had a glass floor so you could see all the way down into the canyon and we went over the top of Katoomba Falls. Paul is a whiz driving on the left. We went to a park that is known for wild kangaroos, but alas, there were none but we saw tons of parrots. We stayed near the airport as we had an early morning flight...the room was basic and we were glad to leave. Now we have arrived in Cairns.....paradise. We are in a top floor apartment right on the beach; gentle breezes, turquoise water, vodka chilling in the freezer for ... read more

Thanks to those who left comments...we forgot the cable to load pictures on our i-pad so will have to show you when we return! Today we rented a car in Sydney and drove on the left side of the road.....in pouring rain! Janet is a notorious back seat driver but did her best to 'zip it'.....okay one time she shrieked at Paul that he was going the wrong way on a one way street....he wasn't. Paul did keep fiddling with the wipers...he thought he was signaling lane changes but all he was doing was changing the wiper speed...oh well. We stopped at a wildlife park and Janet finally got to pet and feed koalas and kangaroos, all the while barking at Paul "take a picture!!". We made it to the Blue Mountains in heavy rain and ... read more

This morning we walked up towards the Central Business District. We went through Hyde Park which is beautifully manicured with towering trres, fountains, and blooming flowers. We went into David Jones which is the fanciest dept store in Sydney. The food court was not to be believed. We purchased a takeaway picnic lunch: salads, mini chicken and brie pies, baguette, prosciutto and the most delicious chocolate dipped strawberry and dipped fig. We took our picnic to the botanic gardens and ate on the grass overlooking the harbor and opera house with a large flock of wild, screeching parrots in the trees behind us. As we ate our lunch, everyone in Sydney came out o their lunch break to have a jog....and I do mean everyone. Hundreds of runners in large groups and running at Kenyan-like speeds. ... read more